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From
station mailboxes:
'It just feels like hearts coming out of my head'
What do viewers and listeners have to say about public broadcasting's
purposes? You can work backward from what they were moved to write about
its achievements, in letters and calls to stations and producers. This
sampling was compiled by Karen Everhart Bedford and originally published
in Current, Dec. 16, 1996.
| Relief from yappy dogs
Dear NPR,
Ever since I arrived in Ukraine in June, I have suffered acute NPR
news withdrawals. Sure, I miss my family, my friends, and all those
"things" that have come to represent my previous life
in America--hot showers, clean tap water, brown sugar for my oatmeal
and lighted stairwells. But I suspect that it is the lack of those
familiar voices that woke me up each morning in Salem, Ore., that
has made my transition in this country most difficult. Please send
those tapes soon. Being cajolled from sleep by blaring Russian techno-pop
and yappy foreign-speaking dogs is no way to start the day--even
in beautiful Yalta.
--A Peace Corps volunteer
P.S. Would you consider throwing in a tape of Car Talk?
I am teaching English and always looking for tapes of classic American
accents to play for my students.
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Does Pluto have a moon?
Dear Newton's Apple,
I am 12 years old and I watch on Channel 14 in Pelham, Ga., on
Sunday mornings before church. I have a question. I was reading
about Pluto in a magazine, and the magazine said that Pluto has
a moon. Is that true?
When I told my science teacher, she read the article. Our textbooks
say that Pluto has no moon. Later, when we had a test, I missed
that question because I said "yes." My teacher said we
have to go by the textbooks.
The other kids think I'm nuts. So could you do my question on your
show so the question will be settled?
Please let me know when you use it, if you do, so I can record
it and show my friends. I love your show.
--M
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From 'unremiting atrocities,'
to 'the reason we watch'
WETA, Washington, invited viewer comments to the broadcast
premiere of the Ken Burns/Stephen Ives series The West. What
follows is a sampling of messages on the station's viewer comment
line.
The program shown on Wed., Sept. 18, ["Death Runs Riot"]
was terrible. It was unremitting atrocities, one after another.
There was just no break in the overall depressing horror. ... There
must have been some humor in the West, there must have been something
that could have been more than just a tale of war and atrocities.
The West is the reason that we watch Public Television.
It is an outstanding series. It is so true and so accurate and so
beautifully filmed and told. Where else could it show, but on Public
Television?
--a caller from Northern Virginia
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| Taking the
long way home
An e-mail message to Sound & Spirit:
I listen to your program on Sunday morning while I do my chores
here on a farm in Illinois. I love your program and sometimes after
I have finished feeding my animals before your show has finished,
I take the long way home.
I only live a few miles from the barn and pastures, but if I'm
into the show it can take 30 minutes to get home. I just drive around
the countryside listening to you.
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'So much pain was buried,
and ... me along with it'
The recent P.O.V. presentation of "Maya Lin:
A Strong Clear Vision," the Academy-award winning film about
the creator of the Vietnam War Memorial, inspired a web site that
gathers personal testimony about the Vietnam War era. This is an e-mail
response reprinted from "Re: Vietnam: Stories Since the War"
(www.pbs.org/pov/stories).
I feel safe with this site.
It is peculiar that after 26 years of unknowingly living the Vietnam
War in the recesses of my mind, the War has risen to the surface
in profound and emotional ways. So much pain was buried, and so
much of me along with it.
I am now on a journey of rediscovery with all the trappings of
flashbacks and a constant roller coaster of emotion which I am just
beginning to understand.
I now know that I never left the scene of combat. My life has been
this combat reenacted in the terms of the conflict of the moment.
It's power has affected many, and has left me with a legacy for
which I have no power to change.
I am anchored with the belief that I am at a new beginning, an
opportunity to understand this past, become at peace with it, and
to look toward a new life.
I had the honor to work with a Vietnamese person several weeks
ago. He was a very young man in Saigon during my tour of duty in
1969 and 1970. He remembered much. It does not surprise me that
I felt greater comfort discussing the War with him than I feel when
discussing the War with my fellow Americans. Fellow Vietnam Veterans
are the only other exception, but only when they can talk through
their burden of emotional pain.
Issues of trust and emotional safety run strong in
my mind. This is the first site I have encountered with dignity,
sensitivity, and the feeling of true respect. I shall return.
--A.V.
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Nothing amiss with signal
The master control technicians at WDCN-TV, Nashville, report:
One night a lady called to report that there was something wrong
with the station's broadcast signal. "My picture is clear,
but there is no sound," she told the engineer on duty.
After checking the equipment, the engineer assured her that nothing
was amiss. "But you're broadcasting letters on the screen that
are not normally there," she replied.
"What are they?" the engineer asked.
"M, U, T and E."
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'Can you possibly realize
how cynical you've become?'
This letter arrived at NPR in response to a recent on-air
fundraising campaign on KUOW, Seattle.
To the Head of the Operation:
While the public is a fascinating body of widely diverse opinions
in all sorts of accents and styles of speech, your announcing staff
sounds like a self-satisfied club of aristocrats who have all graduated
from the same class in rhetoric. And while no doubt they're all
proficient in ritual diction, it's also true that none of them can
pronounce "Sarajevo" correctly. If there were public access
to this tightly controlled medium, the term "public radio"
might make sense; but for now, your use of it borders on abuse of
the English language.
Your fundraisers ask our support for "commercial-free"
broadcasting. How nice to learn, minutes later, that our hard-earned
nickels are rubbing elbows with those of the crooks from Archer-Daniels-Midland.
Get honest, and drop that term, too.
. . . Back in the days of enthusiasum for NPR there was variety;
KUOW was "Radio Free Seattle" before you hijacked it;
we could even hear music on a daily basis. In fact, music was rather
a strong point. Now it's gone. Can you possibly realize how cynical
you've become?, when the only circumstance which brings us "Blue
Moon of Kentucky" uninterrupted is the death of Bill Monroe?
So you get nothing beyond these words. Should we join public radio,
merely to become passive listeners and bill-payers? Is public radio
only for the fan club of the anointed? When can we hear the public,
free from the jealous editing of your feature writers and talk show
hosts? When can we hear the intelligent presentation of music that
your token syndicated shows ignore? Fill in some of the vast blanks
in your audible and ideological spectrum, chuck out half of your
talk shows, let us hear from a construction foreman making a job
go right. Have Spike Lee do a feature on how NPR hosts are selected.
Then come see me about a contribution.
--H.B.
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Struggling against ignorance
An e-mail response to the recent Frontline broadcast
of "Secret Daughter," a film about a mother and a daughter
separated by the racism that divides American society. Dear Frontline:
I am a 27 year old white gay male. There have been only a few times
that I have ever written anyone about a program. I felt compelled
to tell how I feel and let [filmmaker June Cross] know that she
has touched many people with her story.
I have myself wondered night after night about how my own parents
felt about me and the decisions that they made. Though I never had
to deal with racial undertones in my fami ly, I have had to deal
with a lot of ignorance. W hen I came out openly about my homosexu
ality, my stepfather threw me out of the house and my mother just
stood there watching him do this to her 12-year-old baby boy. My
siblings who are all older than me forbade me from even touching
my nieces and nephews for fear that I would rub off or give them
AIDS, which I do not have (knock on wood). It has been tough, but
I got past it and my family and I are real close. They do not accept
my lover and friend of ten years, but I guess I can't ask for miracles.
I guess the point I am trying to make is that, even though June
and I are worlds apart, I did feel a certain kinship. Maybe it was
to her abandonment or maybe it was to her cour age, I really don't
know. I just think it was a wonderful story and I wish her the best
of luck.
--A viewer in Kansas City
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| Ask why no one is watching
An e-mail response to "Why America Hates the Press,"
a Frontline documentary by Stephen Talbot that examined public
disillusionment with the national press and featured interviews
with elite members of the Washington press corps:
Dear Frontline,
I think this Frontline report missed the boat so badly that
Mr. [Stephen] Talbot is still hanging out on the dock days after
the ship has sailed. Blaming America's "hate affair" with
the Beltway press on the McLaughlin Group and Cokie Roberts' lecture
fees is completely ludicrous.
If you really want to know why America hates the press, you should
have taken a look at the alternative news sources that America is
turning to, namely, talk radio, and the Internet. And while you're
at it, you should also ask yourselves why nobody is watching PBS
or Frontline, either.
And if Mr. Talbot thinks that Beltway journalists are "losing
touch" with mainstream America, why didn't he take the time
to interview some mainstream Americans instead of focusing his report
solely on the inside- the-Beltway journalists who are supposedly
the source of the problem?
All in all, a disappointing effort. Please try harder next time.
Thank you.
-- K.G.
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| 'Kindly keep Feraca on forever'
Dear Ideas Network:
[Wisconsin Public Radio host] Jean Feraca is our national treasure.
She ought to be national--cancel that. She ought to be world-wide,
but perhaps I'm grateful that she is not. Perhaps if she were on
a wider band, we could no longer afford her programs? Gasp.
Years ago, I lived in Minnesota, and when it was time to find a
new job, I wanted to live in Wisconsin, where the public radio was
good. I suspect many of us came to Wisconsin for the radio. You've
never disappointed me.
But sometimes you were hard to reach. We have devised a strange
lot of antennae through the years, so that sometimes our roof must
have projected the image of a remote CIA hideout.
The surprising thing is that you have not demolished the Wisconsin
work ethic. It has been the downside of going to work, to miss your
programs. I've worn out a half-dozen clock radios in attempts to
tape copies of radio programs while I was away at work, and finally
decided to wait until retirement to catch Jean Feraca. Kindly do
something to keep her forever.
--a Feraca fan in Markesan
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| Struggle to keep faith alive
Dear Mr. Moyers,
I want you to know how very much I, and many of my friends, are
enjoying your Genesis series. Interesting, illuminating and
fascinating ... .
Your Cain and Abel show hit home to me in a huge way. I have often
read that chapter in the Bible, looking for answers to a question
always on my mind. Where is GOD when the helpless need him? A few
years ago my young son was ambused and senselessly murdered as he
was walking home, just three blocks from our house, from a guitar
lesson. Three drugged punks dragged him into an alley and killed
him for $16.
My son was just beginning his life. He believed God was always
near. It has seemed to me that God does, indeed, condone evil. I
was brought up to believe in a loving and caring God. I have tried
to keep my faith alive, but it hasn't been an easy task. Your first
show did enlighten me, somewhat, but I know that I will never understand.
I tell myself "someday."
I feel certain that this series will appeal to many. It certainly
has to me. What a special man you are.
--A viewer in Florida
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| Please join me for a milkshake
Dear Mr. Nye,
At first my interest in you was not a positive thing. I was irritated
with the evidence of your influence on my children. I didn't appreciate
the Crisco all over the counters and sink (blubber experiment) or
the fact that all my beverage containers were missing their tops
(earthquake experiment). Hearing their laughter drift down to my
work room, I had to investigate. That is when I first saw you on
the PBS station. I became as hooked as they were. I fell in deep
delight. You are way cool.
Each time I view your contributions, I come away ten degrees happier.
My children come away ten degrees smarter. I am extending an invitation
for dinner or tea/banana milkshake or a relationship at your earliest
convenience or curiosity.
....I am curious about the perceptions you possess that I may not.
Please consider the preceding and trade synapses with me....
--A divorced mother "of Catalonian descent"
in Virginia
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| Reaching a boy few others
can
Dear Mr. Nye:
We have a high functional autistic child named Douglas. We have
watched his progress over the last ten years with as much care as
we could afford and have noticed he learns things "through
the back door." When you think he is not paying attention,
he really is. He tends to process information slower than others,
not because he is slower but because there seems to be a filter
in his brain that makes it hard for him to catch up socially and
academically.
In his school, he attends a special education class for the equivalent
of 4th grade and, on occasion, they "mainstream" him into
reading or science class. He seems to have found something that
he excels at--science.
We have always had a preference for PBS to dominate his television
viewing but have never seen him take to anything as much as Bill
Nye the Science Guy! We have the privilege of getting the program
four times a week, and he always stops whatever he is doing to watch
your show. His attested attention span is 2-3 minutes but he is
riveted to the TV for the full length of your program.
You have introduced him to the solar system, levers, simple machines,
tension, the atmosphere, etc. He takes it all in and gives us a
dissertation on each subject until he goes to bed for the night.
He, who cannot really read or do much in the way of math, can explain
to his teacher and classmates about gravity. Heavy, huh? UH-HUH!
The day Douglas walked up and asked, "Daddy, why can't we
ever reach absolute zero?", Dad picked his jaw up off the ground,
and knew that Douglas was begin reached by you and all associated
with your program.
One thing we know Douglas understands is the humor and kinetic
way all information is presented. The belly laughs coming from the
living room are priceless. The comments that come from his teacher,
gratifying.
Our family would like to thank you and everyone involved in your
program for the good work you have done over the years. You have
reached a boy who may not have been reached by other stimuli in
this way.
--Two parents in California
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| Expressions inspired by
Rogers
Mr. Rogers, I like you so much it just feels like hearts coming
out of my head.
--a four-year-old boy from California Dear Mr. Rogers,
My husband recently died suddenly ... . My four-year-old granddaughter
believes that when you come on the air you are talking to her personally,
and she talks back to the television set as though you can hear
her as well.
Recently you were singing a song about feelings and encouraging
children to talk about them with someone. From the other room, I
heard her saying to the television set, "I have feelings Mr.
Rogers. I'm sad, Mr. Rogers." Just then you said it's okay
to be angry and tell someone about it. So she said, "I am!
I'm angry too! I'm sad and even Grandma said it's okay to be angry."
She continued to pour her little heart out to you ... . I held
her in my arms and we both wept.
--a grandmother in New York state
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| A glimpse of common humanity
A viewer voice-mail message responding to P.O.V.'s "A
Litany for Survival: The Life and Work of Audre Lorde":
She was black and she was a lesbian. I have to admit, I'm pretty
sick of people making an issue of their Blackness, of their womanhood,
and of their lesbianism. Consistently, by these issues coming forward
this way I feel myself distanced, alienated. It's as if I really
doubt that these people love the art they do, rather they use these
things to substitute for the quality of the art they do.
But then, as I watched her die, I realized that this was indeed
her life. I thought of all my other patients of all sorts of races
and sexes and different preferences, all dying. In the end, we all
look alike when we're dying, maybe that's the them out there. Maybe
long before we die we should realize how alike we are, treat each
other that way, and then dying wouldn't be so empty, so ugly, and
so frightening.
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| Affectionate canine audience
Dear Minnesota Public Radio,
Your music programming is wonderful. My dogs love it. I gave a dinner
party the other night . . .
Dear Wishbone,
I too am a Jack Russell terrier ... . I think you're cute, especially
in the episode where you have a moustache.
If you ever come to my hometown for a visit, maybe you could come
by for meatloaf. I have some toys and a small pool in the backyard.
We could have lots of adventures, and maybe get married. Maybe we
could make calendars with our pictures. Momma says I'm cute.
Please think about the visit. I hope to hear from you soon.
P.S. Momma wants to know how they get you to wear clothes. She
bought me a nice snowsuit, but no matter how cold it gets, I won't
let her put it on me. She says you could probably teach me some
good manners too.
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| Quiz show restores faith
that world is mostly friendly
The following letter was addressed to Michael Feldman, host
of Whad' Ya Know?:
I was severely injured a year ago in the Oklahoma City federal
building bombing. I had a broken jaw and nose and lost the sight
in one of my eyes. I was in the hospital for a couple of weeks and
have had eight surgeries to date. During this ordeal I have often
relied on your program to lift my spirits.
Due to my eye injuries I couldn't read or watch TV for several
weeks after the bombing. The radio was my only entertainment. I
remember listening to a tape of Whad' Ya Know? while I was
in the hospital. After each of my surgeries, I make sure that I
have tapes of the program to listen to while I'm recuperating.
You, Jim, John and Jeff are like old friends coming for a visit--except
I can shut you off when I get tired. You and your audience all seem
so sane and non-violent. It reminds me that the world is mostly
full of friendly people that would never dream of blowing up a federal
office building.
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Why public broadcasting?: Commentaries on its purpose and reality.
Related
articles: Current Briefing on public broadcasting's audiences.
Web page created July 5, 1999
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Copyright 1996
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